The "Michelangelo Code": The Quest for Universal Truth.

Michelangelo's unparalleled frescoes in the Sistine Chapel have been traditionally construed to represent the traditional, Roman Catholic interpretation of the Seven Days of Creation in the Book of Genesis and the Last Judgement. Indeed, in September 2018, Pope Francis I offered a benediction for the Vatican's art treasures and for "those who contributed to the Church's history through art." A number of studies have suggested that Michelangelo concealed anatomic information about the human brain in his renderings of God and biblical prophets and saints. Was the anatomic content of these images purposeful or coincidental? Was the anatomy intentionally concealed? Is there a common pattern with symbolic connotations in the anatomic representations? Was Michelangelo sending an encoded message? In this study, we analyze the imagery in the Sistine frescoes in light of the literature surrounding Michelangelo's artistry with a particular interest in the relationship between the certain purported anatomic depictions and details demonstrable using scientific and anatomic techniques available during the High Renaissance.

Evita's lobotomy.

For 60 years, the details about Eva Perón's illness and lobotomy at the end of her life have been obscured from the public. Here, we examine the sociopolitical factors that may have contributed to this secrecy. The first involves Eva Perón's political status and the personality cult surrounding her image, including partisan efforts to present her as a patron saint of Peronism. The second involves the social perceptions, which are often stigmatizing, regarding disease in political or public figures. Notably, neuropsychiatric illness and associated indications for treatment were viewed as oligarchic by the Perón regime, and admission to a lobotomy may have been perceived as anti-Peronist. A third factor involves the growing ignominy of prefrontal lobotomy as a surgical modality, which may have precluded operative exposés. A final factor may be that Eva Perón's lobotomy was in fact performed for behavior and personality modification, and not just for pain control. A brief history of lobotomy is presented, highlighting its adoption as a procedural panacea for psychiatric illnesses, relief of intractable pain from cancer, and management of belligerent behavior, and its subsequent fall from clinical favor. Although a shroud of secrecy still surrounds Eva Perón's prefrontal lobotomy, these factors provide a potential rationale for the circumstances, as well as foster a discussion of cultural elements that may still play a role in the public perception of psychosurgery today.

Prefrontal lobotomy on Evita was done for behavior/personality modification, not just for pain control.

Eva Perón, best known as Evita, underwent a prefrontal lobotomy in 1952. Although the procedure was said to have been performed to relieve the pain of metastatic cancer, the author carried out a search for evidence that suggests that the procedure was prescribed to decrease violence and to modify Evita's behavior and personality, and not just for pain control. To further elucidate the circumstances surrounding the treatment of this well-known historic figure, the author reviewed the development of the procedure known as prefrontal lobotomy and its three main indications: management of psychiatric illness, control of intractable pain from terminal cancer, and mind control and behavior/personality modification. The role of pioneering neurosurgeons in the development of prefrontal lobotomy, particularly in Connecticut and at Yale University, was also studied, and the political and historical conditions in Argentina in 1952 and to the present were analyzed. Evita was the wife of Juan Perón, who was the supreme leader of the Peronist party as well as president of Argentina. In 1952, however, the Peronist government in Argentina was bicephalic because Evita led the left wing of the party and ran the Female Peronist Party and the Eva Perón Foundation. She was followed by a group of hardcore loyalists interested in accelerating the revolution. Evita was also suffering from metastatic cervical cancer, and her illness increased her anxiety and moved her to purchase weapons to start training workers' militias. Although the apparent purpose was to fight her husband's enemies, this was done without his knowledge. She delivered fiery political speeches and wrote incendiary documents that would have led to a fierce clash in the country at that time. Notwithstanding the disreputable connotation of conspiracy theories, evidence was found of a potentially sinister political conspiracy, led by General Perón, to quiet down his wife Evita and modify her behavior/personality to decrease her belligerence, in addition to treating her cancer-related pain. Psychosurgery was purportedly intended to calm Evita and thus avoid a bloody civil war in Argentina. It was carried out in maximum secrecy and involved a distinguished American neurosurgeon, Dr. James L. Poppen, from the Lahey Clinic in Boston. A recorded and videotaped interview with a former scrub nurse and confidante of Dr. James L. Poppen revealed that prior to the lobotomy on Eva Perón, he performed lobotomies on a few prisoners in the prison system in Buenos Aires. Later, Dr. Poppen seems to have regretted his involvement and participation in this sad chapter in Argentine history. The treatment of Evita at the end of her life was influenced by extraordinary circumstances of time and place but also involved general issues of medical professionalism, the ethics of neuroscience, and the risks of being manipulated by labyrinthine byzantine politics. This story serves as a reminder that any physician, even one considered to be one of the best in the world, may act naively and become a pawn in a game he cannot begin to fathom.

Psychosurgery: past, present, and future, including prefrontal lobotomy and Connecticut's contribution.

Psychosurgery, a subspecialty of functional neurosurgery, has been used in the treatment of psychiatric illness, intractable pain, and, controversially, as ameans to control and modify violent human behavior. Prefrontal lobotomy, a procedure developed in the 20th century, arose as a result of pioneering research, includingwork done atYaleUniversity in New Haven. Prominent clinicians throughout Connecticut contributed to the development of modern psychosurgery. Neuroethics or ethics of neuroscience is essential to the study and practice ofpsychosurgery. New technology has provided improved accuracy with less morbidity. The progressive replacement of ablative procedures with deep-brain stimulation and restorative neurosurgery offers new perspectives in the treatment of some psychiatric conditions.

New evidence of prefrontal lobotomy in the last months of the illness of Eva Perón.

OBJECTIVE: To give validity to the claim that Eva Perón underwent a prefrontal lobotomy and/or another neurosurgical procedure. METHODS: 1) Press interviews given by Dr. George Udvarhelyi, who passed away in 2010, were read and his statements were crosschecked with excerpts of his memoirs; 2) Searched for other oral and written evidence in Argentina; 3) Reviewed radiological evidence and recent revelations about her illness and death; and 4) Carried out historic review of prefrontal lobotomy as an accepted and established surgical treatment during the relevant time period and place. RESULTS: Udvarhelyi's assertion in a press interview that a prefrontal lobotomy was performed on Eva Perón is consistent with the history he penned in his memoirs. Interviews with individuals close to Eva conducted by historians, revealed a clinical picture compatible with side effects from such an operation. Comments from surgeon Dr. Ricardo Finochietto, leader of the group of physicians involved in Eva's medical care, provide further support that a neurosurgical procedure was performed. President Perón's orders and instructions to the medical team also support this allegation. Review of skull radiographs show findings compatible with burr holes. Photographs of the patient at the end of her illness show indentation at the coronal level. The alleged procedure was cutting edge of surgery in 1952. The Argentine neurosurgical establishment was up to par in psychosurgical developments and there were neurosurgeons close to Perón that could have performed the procedure in those circumstances. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence was found that gives validity to Dr. George Udvarhelyi's claim that Eva Perón underwent a neurosurgical prefrontal lobotomy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This was done for treatment of pain, anxiety, and agitation secondary to uterine metastatic cancer before her death in 1952. Neurosurgeon Dr. James L. Poppen appears to have been involved in the case.

Historia de los neurocirujanos argentinos en el mundo: tercera parte / Argentine neurosurgeons in the world: historial prespective: third part

La neurocirugía moderna como disciplina de la medicina y especialidad de la cirugía nació y se desarrolló principalmente en el hemisferio norte durante el siglo XX. Por ello, muchos neurocirujanos sudamericanos, y especialmente argentinos, se entrenaron en centros médicos de gran prestigio en Norteamérica y Europa, y al regresar a sus países de origen fundaron escuelas y centros hospitalarios neuroquirúrgicos importantes. Muchos de sus discípulos, así como otros jóvenes médicos, siguieron los pasos de estospioneros y buscaron nuevos horizontes en otras partes del mundo donde algunos se establecieron ejerciendo con distinción la neurocirugía. En este marco, el presente estudio aborda un conjunto de biografías de destacados neurocirujanos argentinos que ejercieron y aún ejercen la profesión en el exterior. Sus historias, en cuatro entregas de esta revista, dos de ellas ya publicadas, se presentan contextualizadas en el marco histórico de la especialidad. Nuestro propósito es contribuir a la Historia de la Medicina Argentina y estrechar los vínculos de la comunidad neuroquirúrgica argentina en el mundo.

Modern neurosurgery as a discipline of medicine and as a specialty of surgery was born mainly in the northern hemisphere and in the 20th Century. South American pioneers, including Argentine neurosurgeons trained in foreign medical institutions and then came back to start local neurosurgicalcenters and training programs. The 20th Century witnessed the phenomenon of increased migration of peoples. SomeArgentine neurosurgeons established their residence outside Argentina where they practiced and some are still practicing the “Princess of Surgical Specialties”. A brief summary of the 11. Andersen R. Laser Space Experiments Find a Museum Home. OPN 2006; 12-3. http://bit.ly/d58CRW 12. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Laser, JULIE Payload, STS 61-C. http://bit.ly/cQraeY 13. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Container, JULIEGetaway Special, STS 61-C. http://bit.ly/95J0Lm 14. Malis LI. Electrosurgery and bipolar technology. Neurosurgery2006; 58(1 Suppl): 1-12. 15. Camins MB, Moore FM, Carmel PW. Leonard I. Malis, MD, 1919– 2005: “a legend in his own time”. An obituary. J Neurosurg 2006; 104: 332-3 16. Galafassi HD. Ernesto Patricio Dowling: Un Inciador de la Neurocirugía. Rev Argent Neuroc 2004; 18(S1): 24-6. 17. Plot HM. Apuntes para la Historia del Servicio de Neurocirugía del Hospital Pirovano. Rev Argent Neuroc 2007; 21: 201-7.development of neurosurgery in the World, South America, and Argentina was included in the first article. It preceded a number of biographical sketches describing the personal andprofessional lives of some Argentine neurosurgeons throughout the world. This is the third article of four. The last one will include a discussion and conclusions. This contribution addsto the excellent publications dealing with the history of neurosurgeryin Argentina.

Historia de los neurocirujanos argentinos en el mundo: tercera parte / Argentine neurosurgeons in the world: historial prespective: third part

La neurocirugía moderna como disciplina de la medicina y especialidad de la cirugía nació y se desarrolló principalmente en el hemisferio norte durante el siglo XX. Por ello, muchos neurocirujanos sudamericanos, y especialmente argentinos, se entrenaron en centros médicos de gran prestigio en Norteamérica y Europa, y al regresar a sus países de origen fundaron escuelas y centros hospitalarios neuroquirúrgicos importantes. Muchos de sus discípulos, así como otros jóvenes médicos, siguieron los pasos de estospioneros y buscaron nuevos horizontes en otras partes del mundo donde algunos se establecieron ejerciendo con distinción la neurocirugía. En este marco, el presente estudio aborda un conjunto de biografías de destacados neurocirujanos argentinos que ejercieron y aún ejercen la profesión en el exterior. Sus historias, en cuatro entregas de esta revista, dos de ellas ya publicadas, se presentan contextualizadas en el marco histórico de la especialidad. Nuestro propósito es contribuir a la Historia de la Medicina Argentina y estrechar los vínculos de la comunidad neuroquirúrgica argentina en el mundo.(AU)

Modern neurosurgery as a discipline of medicine and as a specialty of surgery was born mainly in the northern hemisphere and in the 20th Century. South American pioneers, including Argentine neurosurgeons trained in foreign medical institutions and then came back to start local neurosurgicalcenters and training programs. The 20th Century witnessed the phenomenon of increased migration of peoples. SomeArgentine neurosurgeons established their residence outside Argentina where they practiced and some are still practicing the ¶Princess of Surgical Specialties÷. A brief summary of the 11. Andersen R. Laser Space Experiments Find a Museum Home. OPN 2006; 12-3. http://bit.ly/d58CRW 12. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Laser, JULIE Payload, STS 61-C. http://bit.ly/cQraeY 13. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Container, JULIEGetaway Special, STS 61-C. http://bit.ly/95J0Lm 14. Malis LI. Electrosurgery and bipolar technology. Neurosurgery2006; 58(1 Suppl): 1-12. 15. Camins MB, Moore FM, Carmel PW. Leonard I. Malis, MD, 1919¹ 2005: ¶a legend in his own time÷. An obituary. J Neurosurg 2006; 104: 332-3 16. Galafassi HD. Ernesto Patricio Dowling: Un Inciador de la Neurocirugía. Rev Argent Neuroc 2004; 18(S1): 24-6. 17. Plot HM. Apuntes para la Historia del Servicio de Neurocirugía del Hospital Pirovano. Rev Argent Neuroc 2007; 21: 201-7.development of neurosurgery in the World, South America, and Argentina was included in the first article. It preceded a number of biographical sketches describing the personal andprofessional lives of some Argentine neurosurgeons throughout the world. This is the third article of four. The last one will include a discussion and conclusions. This contribution addsto the excellent publications dealing with the history of neurosurgeryin Argentina.(AU)